New Pneumococcal Vaccine Approved

these capsule containing vaccines. Previous work with another bacteria, Haemophilus influenzae, demonstrated that if the capsule was attached to a protein children under 2 years of age could make antibodies to the capsule and were protected from meningitis, pneumonia, and earaches caused by this bacterium. Knowing this researchers decided to attach a protein to 7 different Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule types. The 7 capsule types they chose cause about 80 percent of the Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in children.

To see if this new vaccine would work they injected 37,868 children with this new vaccine at 2, 4, 6, and 12-15 months. Then they followed them to see if they were protected from becoming ill by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The GOOD news is that they found this vaccine to be over 95 percent effective in protecting these children from invasive life threatening disease (bacteremia, pneumonia, meningitis) due to Streptococcus pneumoniae that produced these 7 capsule types. They also discovered that they could lower the number of children requiring the placement of tubes in their ears (ventilatory tube placement) by 20 percent.

Some side effects were noted from this vaccination. Fever, local reddening and or swelling of the skin around the injection site, fussiness, drowsiness, and loss of appetite were the most common side effects. These data are very similar to what has been recorded for the other childhood vaccines currently given to children.

This is really great news. Many children will be spared this very nasty bacterial infection. As a result the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that this new vaccine be given to all children under 23 months of age. It is also strongly suggested that children from 2 months to 59 months of age with Sickle cell disease, other sickle cell hemoglobinopathies, no spleen or a spleen that is not functioning properly, immunodeficiences, and chronic illnesses (cardiac disease, lung disease, diabetes, etc.) be given this vaccine.

The vaccine should be available soon and if you have a child that fits into one of these grouping I encourage you to talk to your physician about this vaccine. If your physician hasn't yet heard of this vaccine or if you would like to see the ACIP recommendations yourself click here. For more information on Streptococcus pneumoniae click here.

Take Care and Think Microbiologically! For more microbiology articles go to Suite101:Microbiology.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic